1. Ensure you understand the concepts and the
terms on this sheet.
Gender and sex
What are little boys made of? What are little girls made of?
What are little boys made of? What are little girls made of?
Frogs and snails Sugar and spice
And puppy-dog tails, And all that's nice,
That's what little boys are made of. That's what little girls are made of.
In our society there are certain attributes and behaviours which are seen to be more
appropriate for one sex than the other. The following opposing lists illustrate how men and
women are seen to be different:
MEN are / should be: WOMEN are / should be:
masculine intelligent feminine intuitive
dominant rational submissive emotional
communicative
strong active (do things) Weak
(talk about things)
aggressive passive
There are several other likes and attributes you can probably think of that are stereotypically
male or female. However, it is also clear that these neat lists are not truly representative of
what men and women are really like. You all probably know a woman who likes cars and can
be aggressive or a man who doesn’t drink and cries at weepy romantic comedies.
 Sex refers to a person’s biological sex: whether they are male or female.
 Gender refers to the role or behaviours a person has been socialised into according
to their sex, whether they are masculine or feminine.
 Sexuality refers to a person’s sexual preference: whether they are heterosexual,
homosexual or bisexual.
Gender is fluid, ever-changing and not static
The issue of gender is not static. Acceptable behaviour for each sex changes over time. Contemporary
ideas of masculinity and femininity will be different to those of previous generations. For example,
your grandmother would probably not, enter a pub alone and order a pint of beer, whereas young
women today may well do just that.
These stereotypes exist, to a certain extent, because they are easier than getting to know
every man and women in the world personally. Advertisers are especially prone to using
stereotypes to sell products for the same reason. They assume that all women or men are
similar to make targeting audiences a simpler process.
The magazines are using gender stereotypes but also perpetuating them. Consider the
following questions:
 Does nature or nurture make young women want to wear make-up and young men want
to drink and fight?
 To what extent does the content of magazines like those mentioned here encourage men
and women in their choices?
Adapted from http://www.mediaed.org.uk/posted_documents/MagzineAdverts.htm

2. How are these stereotypes promoted/ developed by the society Western society?
In the Argos store catalogue the heading “Business Travel Range – designed to meet the
needs of today’s professionals” shows a man in a grey suit carrying his suitcase. Even though
the majority of people in higher positions are male, this portrayal of “today’s professionals”
does not reflect the real situation, but helps to preserve gender stereotypes. In the toy’s
section, we see one boy and seven girls playing with plastic cookers. Toys related to cleaning
and childcare are only shown together with girls, whereas the pages advertising tool kits,
workbenches and cars only feature boys. Fancy dresses for children promote a defined idea
of appropriate roles: girls dress up as nurses, fairies and princesses and boys as racing
drivers, astronauts, cowboys or firemen.
The titles of the Little Miss/Mr. Men books sum up the notions of femininity and masculinity
expressed in the stories. There are Little Miss Tidy and Mr. Messy, Little Miss Wise and Mr.
Clever, Little Miss Tiny and Mr. Small, Little Miss Shy and Mr. Brave. Little Miss Busy and Mr.
Busy seemed to be the first equal couple on the bookshelf (not taking into account the
difference in marital status). Only at first sight, though: “Little Miss Busy” is “as busy as a bee”
cleaning the house “from top to bottom – and then from bottom to top,just to make sure”; “she
even dusted the bread and polished the butter”. “Mr. Busy does things ten times faster as
ever you or I could” and “he lives in a very busy-looking house which he’d built himself”. Little
Miss Busy is diligent and dutiful; Mr. Busy is fast, productive and efficient. While Barbie’s role
has changed, presenting her in a profession, as a baseball player or a racing driver, we still
haven’t seen Action Man as a daddy, nurse or in a pyjama-party outfit. These roles seem very
trivial in contrast to his usual “missions”. Barbie taking on traditionally masculine roles, but
Action Man not adopting feminine roles reflects the real situation: women claim space in
‘male’ domains, but men do not question their own role, or identify with feminine roles to such
an extent.
Because I was a girl some years ago, playing with girl’s toys (no Barbies, though), I was
instantly aware of the ‘missing’ information in Action Man’s presentation: Where does he live?
Who are his family or friends? Is he married? What does he have for tea? Does he have
pets? What hobbies does he have? I was wondering if boys had these questions, too. When I
asked, the sober answer was: “He lives in his machines, and anyway, Action Man isn’t real,
and you don’t get to see him eating and stuff, that’d be boring!” I decided to give Action Man a
private life. In a storyboard for an interactive animation3 I show him after work, when he
returns to his empty flat in Brockham, Surrey, where the only one awaiting him is his goldfish.
As he’s not ‘in action’ anymore, he’s got a lot of time to toss and turn at night and think about
wrinkles, his age and how long he will still be able to do the job. The depiction of a private life
that is rather prosaic compared to the usual “missions” and “operations” deconstructs the
‘hard as steel’ image of Action Man. I was wondering why it destroys a hero to have a pet, a
home and a private life. The reason is that the body of a human being with emotional needs
and the occasional urge to eat, sleep, or go to the toilet cannot remain the invulnerable,
perfect combat machine Action Man is presented as.
From http://www.blanko.org.uk/melanie_pictures/representations.pdf
Something to think about
Comparing ‘Mistress’ with
‘Master’, ‘Queen’ with ‘King’,
‘Madam’ with ‘Sir’, ‘Dame’ with
‘Earl’ or ‘Lady’ with ‘Lord’, it
becomes clear that almost all
terms for women acquire negative
connotations (often sexual) over
time, while most terms for men
retain their original meanings.